Maybelline - Simply Fabulous

Maybelline’s Simply Fabulous, a campaign to search for the Malaysian girl with the qualities of New York Chic was a success to link Maybelline’s brand idea with local relevance. At a time where consumers were opting for a home-grown brand, the campaign reversed that notion. The one of its kind show also generated enough hype where sales figures were boosted by end of the campaign. New York Chic found its appeal again, in the hearts of young Malaysian female consumers.

What was our strategic communications challenge? 

Throughout the years, Maybelline has successfully used imageries of New York and international celebrities to create aspiration for its late teens/early 20s target audience. But as Asian women began to gain self-confidence and self-worth this winning formula began losing its glitter. Recent years have seen the rise of home grown brands and fringe players gain prominence. For years Maybelline has been enjoying a clear No. 1 position in the market. That is until 2005 with the entry of Silky Girl; a home grown Malaysian brand with perceived parity products but a lower price tag. Since its launch Silky Girl has become a close competitor to Maybelline. Some industry data even suggests that Silky Girl may have overtaken Maybelline as the number 1 brand in terms of volume in the category.

What were our campaign objectives?

With the lack of new news in the 2nd half of 2009 and with Silky Girl on Maybelline’s neck, the client wanted us to create a campaign that connected with young Malaysian women and fended off Silky Girl.

1. Create hype in the market- Generate 500% equivalent of ROI in PR value
2. Strengthen brand preference which will be measured on sales figure against 2008 data.

We had to connect with Malaysian women far stronger than we had been in the past. 

What was our big idea? 

New York may be far, but New York chic is you.

How did we arrive at the big idea? 

The first twist in this tale involved defining chic for Malaysian women. While they obtained their fashion sense over the internet like a lot of women around the world, Malaysian women also had started clinging to their personalities and cultural nuances as opposed to adopting fashion lock, stock and barrel. So it wasn’t uncommon for young Muslim women, clad in tudung (head-gear covering a Muslim female’s hair) to mix up their more traditional attire with a pair of trendy jeans in social environments. 

We also discovered that while Maybelline’s imagery had a universal appeal, it lacked the local relevance of Silky Girl. We needed to make New York Chic relevant and achievable; a style that complemented the young Malaysian girl. 

How did we bring the idea to life? 

The second twist came from an observation that shows like American Idol, America’s Next Top Model and Akademi Fantasia were extremely popular among young female consumers. Many of them download these from the internet or watch it on YouTube instead of on the traditional TV.

The idea of creating a reality show, broadcasted on both the internet and TV, in search of the Malaysian girl with the flair of New York chic was born. This was a first for Maybelline who had stayed within the confines of the traditional television and PR. 

The show was called Simply Fabulous. 

We collaborated with 8TV, a TV station targeted at the urban young to produce the reality TV show. The show consisted of 25 webisodes on 8TV’s website, which were made up of the audition, short-listing and the contestant’s experience of going through challenges set for them as well as how they learned to become a girl of confidence and urban chic. 

The finale event was held at a popular dance club Ministry of Sound with the appearance of many local celebrities. It was recorded and produced into a half an hour prime time TV slot that was broadcasted on 8TV.

While the above formed the core of the campaign, it was supported through various initiatives to maximize impact; PR drive on traditional media, consumers’ participation in community sites e.g. Facebook, consumer voting on 8TV website, invitation to bloggers and on ground road shows.

How do we know it worked? 

Simply Fabulous did fabulously for Maybelline!

By the end of the campaign, we over achieved the client’s objective and helped move the business forward

• Hype was created!

        PR Value Equivalent of RM 3,102,924.8

        (That’s 1706.78% ROI, much higher than the intended 500% ROI in)

• Brand Preference rose as reflected by steep growth compared to same period in the    previous year, in the absence of any price or prize related promotion.

Value sales growth, Month on month, 2009 vs. 2008:-

June                   +2.1%    

July                    -4.3%  

Aug                   -11.1%   (during teaser campaign)

September            +6%    (during campaign execution)

Oct                   +14.4%   (during campaign finale)

Nov                  +13.7%    (1st month post campaign)

Dec                  +27.2%  (2nd month post campaign)

• Total Website Hits  345083

        ( 262 474 views for I Wanna Be A Model 3)

        (345 000 views for America’s Next Top Model)

        (136, 352 views for 8 Style, fashion-style focus show)

(Source: All the above are client provided data)

Cadbury - Sweet Fighter: Bite Size Chocolate

The Cadbury Bytes Sweet Fighter: Journey of Two Tastes, demonstrated that it’s not just the right channel but also an engaging idea that leads to success. In difficult recessionary times faced with declining growth, we chose to engage our audience in a near competition free environment and avoid a fierce price-promotion war through a relevant gaming platform. The game not only entertained and engaged them, but also kept Cadbury Bytes top-of-mind. A successful campaign that led to Cadbury Bytes’ becoming the number 1 brand in the Bitesize chocolate segment. 

What was our strategic communications challenge? 

It is widely believed that the chocolate confectionery industry is rarely affected by recession. After all it is only a small indulgence. But during this recession, that rare occurrence happened in Malaysia. In a Nielsen study encompassing 69 FMCG categories, the chocolate category was one of the harder hit with a -11.7% in Q1 volume growth and a -21.2% in Q2 volume growth (Source: Nielsen Malaysia’s Retail Index dated Sep 2009)  

And within the chocolate category, the Bitesize segment which Cadbury Bytes competes in showed the biggest decline (Source: Nielsen Retail Audit Apr-Jun 2009). Consumers were opting out and opting out fast. The result was a competitive frenzy and a scampering to do whatever it took to maintain both growth and share. Price wars and fierce tactical promotions became the norm as volumes dwindled. We needed to protect our turf because Cadbury Bytes had the second highest market share after M&Ms, the traditional segment leader. 

What were our campaign objectives?

Despite these turbulent times, the client’s business objective was as ambitious as ever: 20% increase over 2008’s average monthly sales during the campaign period (Source: Cadbury Confectionery Malaysia 2009 Nationwide Consumer Engagement KPI Setting)

The client’s brief was to create a nationwide consumer promotion campaign with the allocated minimal budget that would help Cadbury Bytes achieve its sales target and buck the recessionary trend facing our competitors.

What was our big idea? 

A case of the channel becoming the idea: a gaming activation.

How did we arrive at the big idea? 

While on-ground tactical promotions traditionally drove sales, on-ground activation did require larger budgets, especially at a national level; a luxury we just did not have. So while competition was engaged in a competitive, outdo-each-other activation war on-ground, it became clear to us that we needed a new battlefield. A battlefield that was not based in super/hypers, convenience stores or even the local sundry shops. We needed an idea that circumvented competitive initiatives.

We turned to digital and in specific to computer gaming; an activity increasingly gaining favor with our audience. In fact an agency study revealed that computer gaming came in as the next favorite activity, after watching TV and playing football among teenagers (Source: Agency Research). Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG) like Luna Online had attracted so much interest that a Malaysian version was created to cope with the growing number of players. And Cyber Cafes had mushroomed all across the country, all wanting to tap into this growing trend. To a point that the local authorities had to closely scrutinize and regulate these outlets due to parents’ increasing concern of their children’s time spent there.

We knew this medium would strike a chord with our younger audience because it allowed gaming to proliferate across the country (Source: Q208 MAL Nielsen Media Index Jul07-Jun08 (NMR) & (Source: Synovate Young Asians Survey 2007)

In this space we wanted to create a platform where our teenage consumers could immediately engage in a two-way interaction with the brand. The challenge was how to get them excited enough to not only engage the game but to also use WOM to spread it among their peers. More importantly, we wanted it to be a no strings attached deal where consumers did not need to purchase any product to play. An obvious link to product purchase during a recession we felt would detract rather than invite consumers to the brand. 

How did we bring the idea to life? 

Cadbury Bytes Sweet Fighter: A Journey of Two Tastes, a ‘choose your adventure’ online role playing game was conceptualized and produced. And the product’s USP of being both Crunchy and Sweet was weaved into the game as a ‘decision-making’ device. It was this choice that formed the core of the gaming idea. The participants that clocked the fastest time were then chosen as winners.

To drive awareness, we leveraged traditional off-line mediums that were effective in delivering high reach and prominence e.g. TV promotion tag-ons, In-program mentions in teenage TV programs, collaboration with schools for visits as well as in-store collaterals.

How do we know it worked? 

By the end of the campaign, the results exceeded both Cadbury and Agency’s expectations (Source:Cadbury Confectionery Malaysia 2009 Nationwide Consumer Engagement KPI Review & Sales Value):

1. The game site achieved 31,734 visitors over 6 weeks @ 755 visitors per day (51% higher than the client’s target of 21,000 visitors over 6 weeks @ 500 visitors per day)
2. 10,653 gamers registered, which translated to 40% increase in Average Monthly Sales ( 20% higher than the client’s target of 6,000 registrants, or 20% increase in Average Monthly Sales)

And more importantly, our idea translated into business growth for the Client:-

• Cadbury Bytes outperformed the Bitesize segment, posting a 2.4% growth VS a Segment Decline of -4.4% (Source: Nielsen Retail Audit MAT May 09

• Trial and consumption gained positively (Source: Milward Brown Brand Health Tracking 2009):-

           Awareness improved by 7%

           Ever Tried improved by 18%

           Consumed within the past 3 months improved by 14%

           Consumed within the past 1 month improved by 12%

           Consumed within the past 1 week improved by 9%

• And for the first time since Cadbury Bytes was launched in 2005, it over took M&Ms as the market leader in the Bitesize chocolate segment (Source: Nielsen Retail Audit MAT May 09)

In summation, by bucking the category trend and engaging consumers where it really mattered to them, the campaign delivered brand value which ultimately translated to sales.

L’Oreal Paris Men Expert - White Activ...From Zero To Hero

What were our campaign objectives? 

Our long term objective was to become market leader over 5 years by 2012.

What was our big idea? 

"REAL MEN LOOK GOOD WHEN THEY HAVE BRIGHTER AND CLEARER SKIN TONE"

How did we arrive at the big idea? 

With cleansers and moisturizers being the drivers for the men’s segment, we looked outside Malaysia at other markets for our innovation. Thailand provided fodder with their successful launch of the White Activ range; products that come with a skin whitening effect upon usage.

But men in Malaysia didn’t see whitening as a desirable benefit. They felt it was meant more for women and perceived it as feminine. While that might have prevented some from probing deeper, we were not easily perturbed. Further deep diving into Malaysian men revealed that while fairer skin wasn’t what they were looking for, brighter and clearer skin tone was a benefit they actively sought. Same product but different benefit. 

It was however also clear that this benefit had to be communicated with care. Masculine cues were necessary for the benefit to sit well with Malaysian men.

How did we bring the idea to life? 

Aaron Aziz was carefully chosen as the brand ambassador for our White Activ range of products because of his down-to-earth personality and masculine demeanor. He was the perfect candidate to make brighter, clearer skin a masculine enough benefit for men to react to.

Our idea also included raising the ante on masculinity by including promotions where the prizes were superbikes. This campaign also included strategic POS as well as outdoor advertising.

How do we know it worked? 

After the launch of our campaign, the White Activ range of products achieved a sellout performance across key markets in Watsons, Guardian, Carrefour, Tesco, and Jusco. Sales went up by an average of 67%.

                                         Campaign launch

                            Sales figure for White Activ (Volume) from Jan – May 2009

                                                                                                 (Source: Internal figures)

More importantly, the White Activ range became the best selling product for L’Oreal Paris Men Expert, with a contribution of 67% to the Men Expert business. 7 months after our launch, Men Expert overtook Biore men as the market leader with a 27.4% market share (Source: from Nielsen Market Data Report YTD 2009)

Anything else going on that might have helped  drive results? 

We ensured continuity in media presence for the first 4 months of the campaign launch, and a sustenance media strategy that carried through to the end of the year.